Happy Thanksgiving!

It's one of my favorite days of the year! It's also perhaps the only day I willingly and excitedly wake up early. The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is one of my favorite past times. I'm settled into my lady lair (where the digital antenna can actually pull in NBC) with a glass of sparkling wine with a splash of cherry juice (yum!) And Paleo cinnamon rolls are almost done baking in the oven.

The Meal
Mr. Nomadreader and I are once again hosting my parents and grandmother for a Thanksgiving feast. The main event this year is a maple and spiced apple cider brined pork loin. It's been in the brine for 24 hours, and I cannot wait to taste it. Hosting Thanksgiving is a newer tradition, but this is the third year in a row we've done it. I particularly love not having to travel, so I can just relax and enjoy a long weekend with family...and books. I'm blessed he does most of the cooking while I enjoy the parade too!

The Rest of the Day...and the weekend
After the big meal is over, I'm looking forward to a quiet evening reading by the Christmas tree. I'm currently devouring Double Down: Game Change 2012 by Mark Halperin and John Heilemann (I adored Game Change) and enjoying my first Philippa Gregory novel, The Lady in the River. I hope to finish both this weekend during Thankfully Reading. I'm planning to devote the rest of the year to reading the 2013 releases I haven't read yet, as well as continuing to read 2014 releases to be ahead when the new year begins. I'm also still tweaking a few things on the new blog design. I'm really pleased with it so far and have enjoyed reading your comments and reactions to it!

Giving thanks
Two years ago in my Thanksgiving post, I gave thanks to Mr. Nomadreader, my job, this blog, being home, and winter. If I were making the list today, it would look much the same. Home is now our house, and it's particularly special to be spending our first holidays in a house I hope to live in for many, many years. In a year I contemplated giving up this blog many, many times, I'm particularly thankful to have found my way back to the joy of blogging. Much of that is a credit to you, my readers. When I started blogging almost seven years ago, I guarded my privacy fiercely. I never could have imagined how close I would come to be with so many other book bloggers. It all started with leaving comments on each other's blogs, but I'm thankful to call so many book bloggers friends. I'm thankful for all of our interactions on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. I never thought I would be Facebook friends with people I have never met in real life, but I feel I know so many of you so well after years of virtual communicating about books and life. This blog has brought me more joy than I could have ever imagined, and I look forward to many more years of it.

Now tell me: what are you thankful for this year?